Hori Fighting Commander OCTA (Tekken 8 Edition) for PC (Windows 11/10)

I believe my 25 year old Sega MegaDrive 16bit Controller had better D-Pad input registration than this "Fighting Game Controller"... up+f, dw+f, dw+b and up+b inputs never register, I knew there was an issue with previous octa controllers with the d-pad when I ordered this one, but I thought it would be fixable with firmware update, but the same firmware update doesn't apply to the Tekken8 version... Hori Device Manager App doesn't offer firmware update and the d-pad sencitivity adjustment doesn't work on this controller version... I was really excited for this controller with the release of Tekken 8, actually ordered twice because the first UK batch was sold out, so had to reorder from Germany, but ended up beyond dissappinted and will have to go back to using my ps5 controller which turned out to be 100 times better then this excuse for a Fighting Game Controller, only thing it has related to Fighing Games, is the name, avoid at all costs..... Will update the review if firmware update will come out that will fix d-pad input registration issue and fix the app d-pad sencitivity adjustment...

I’ve only had this controller for a few weeks so can’t comment on longevity. I’ve owned previous Hori fighting controllers and so far it seems to have met expectations. The buttons, including d-pad are relatively shallow and respond well, I haven’t noticed any failed inputs or lack of sensitivity. I can see some reviews here report issues with diagonal inputs on the d-pad, I’ve tested this out and haven’t any issue with failed inputs there so it is possible there were some duds in the early batch of these new controllers.I don’t tend to use the analog sticks for fighting games, but have tried them out. The left analog stick seems to have a much shorter travel distance than any of the official ps5, Xbox or switch controllers I’ve used. It’s also an octagonal shape around the stick to help with accuracy. It also can be clicked in for the L3 function. The right analog stick is similar to the analog stick on the psp or 3ds where it slides around. Its travel distance is also very short. It cannot be pushed in for R3 function.I did try this controller out on non fighting games like BG3, it works fine but the right analog stick was slightly fatiguing to use after a while. In first person shooters, again the right analog stick was tiring to use, and slightly clumsy to aim with. The controller was great for streets of rage 4, and 2d platformers. Basically it’s fine for anything that doesn’t need the right analog stick (or use it very often).

Okay as a general Fightpad this is not a great one. The D-pad feels stiff and doesn't quite hit diagonals properly. Face buttons are clicky and are abit resistant not ideal for plinking.My intention was to buy an all in one pad where i could play FG's in fight pad style and also play non FG games which utilize the analog sticks. Take Grandblue Fantasy Versus Rising. I play alot of the main FG portion of the game and Grand Bruise however i have to keep swapping pads if i wanted to play either mode, at least with this pad i can play both as I don't have to worry about motions as much, thanks to the skill button. For Grand bruise, this is a decent replacement for my non FG pad as the analog stick is great and its not hard to use the smaller right analog stick as well.However other FG's that don't have a modern mode skill button then it becomes abit hard to play with compared to my other fightpads/controllers.I feel Hori could do something great if they made another revision and tweak the d-pad and face buttons.For now its an ok pad in general but not that great for FG's.